Mar 13, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government as a first step has decided to lift the restriction on Viber from midnight today to allow expatriates to communicate with their family members in the country, a government statement said.

When communal unrest took place in some parts of the country recently, the government imposed a temporary ban on social media since some extremist groups were using the social media networks to spread hateful and racial claims among the public and to organize violent activities.

Following the ban on social media, the spread of aggression and violence curtailed, and the country's security situation is returning to normalcy again.

Legal action has been taken against those who used the social media to escalate anti-social and illegal activities.

The government In particular, has been sympathetic to the difficulties encountered by expatriate workers in communicating with their families in the country due to the ban on social media. Also the government is also concerned about the difficulties faced by the business community, tourists visiting Sri Lanka and small scale entrepreneurs due to the blocking of the social media networks.

Considering these facts, the government has decided to restore the access to the Viber service from midnight today (March 13).

The government is negotiating with other social networking organizations and relevant stakeholders to implement the necessary provisions to prevent recurrence of such a situation again and confident that the access to those networks can be restored after considering necessary protection and surveillance measures in due course. The Government requests the commitment of all citizens as well as those using social media networks to commit to achieve social stability and security in the country.

The government expresses its regret for the inconvenience caused by this action taken by the government to safeguard law and order.